Not that I expect much from a silly question such as this but I thought it was viable to inquire! And also inform me if this subject has been tackled before...

Now during AX whilst wearing my Ryudo outfit I found that my headpiece (the earmufflike things with huge orange jewel like tops) caused my ear much anguish since it not only pushed on it eliciting much aching but also increased the amount of sweat building up. So there I am during the con constantly taking off the darn headpiece to let my ears 'breathe'....

So we all try our best to take 'comfort' into account for most costumes but not every piece can be so accommodating! So has anyone else had to bear an uncomfortable accessory or costume?
or do most of our cosplay chums here take the 'comfortable to wear' factor into their cosplay criteria?

Tenshi

07-15-2002, 11:18 PM

I don't think I've done a costume yet where I feel totally comfortable ^^;;. Celes would probably qualify as easiest to go long amounts of time in, since it's the most simple. But this AX -- argh! On my Pretear costume, I had the same basic problem you did -- Model Magic ornaments that covered the whole ear. Besides not being able to hear, it bugged the crap out of me!

But anyways, yeah, I constantly sacrifice comfort for cosplay style XD. Especially with shoes. At AX I started wishing I had lavender tennis shoes to substitute for my pumps ^^;;.

Ayaka

07-15-2002, 11:26 PM

Faye Valentine's shoes nearly crippled me, but that's not exactly a surprise. If I'm on my feet long enough in any shoes, I'm near crippled. But the thing I didn't see coming, Integral's glasses were driving me nuts, pinching one side of my head. And when I took them off I discovered part of the problem was that for some reason the silver model paint I used on them had melted and stuck to my head . . . oO;;;

Nadeshiko

07-15-2002, 11:28 PM

Last year I was in my Koto gown. If anyone remembers, it was raining on that first day of AX. I didn't want to ruin my formal shoes, and since it was floor length, I wore my boots underneath the dress. It make walking a whole lot easier. ^^

There's a few floor length dresses I own. Depending on the weather conditions / convention / walking distance, I would need to be in the most comfy shoes I can be in.

Kenshin Ken

07-16-2002, 12:01 AM

hmm.. letseee..
Last year's AX was pretty uncomfy for me... I forgot to pack some comfertable shoes.. and all I had around was my Kuno costume... jsut a note.. running around in zori for 4 days will numb the feeling in your toes for 4 months ^^;;;

This year my Clive costume was rather uncomfertable as well... the leather belts around my neck acted as a insulatior.. so it kinda steamed my heck a few tiems.... the wig too is a problem... sweat and the hair.. which gets in the way ^^;;;

Quies

07-16-2002, 12:12 AM

the only costume i've really ever made..i don't even count it, a school outfit from CCS...i gues i was tommoyo, but the skirt drove me nuts. i never wear long skirts, let alone short ones, and this was a tennis skirt so..put two..er three and three together and there you go. i did have really short shorts on underneath, but i still didn't like it in the least.

Yggdrasil Pie

07-16-2002, 12:17 AM

High heel boots...It can be heck on your feet. >_<
Ahhh...I was walking around all day with them on for my Umi costume... errrrrrr....I think I got about 3 blisters... @_@

Hikaruchan

07-16-2002, 01:22 AM

My list of woes:

Gatchaman Jun - basically walking around with a modified motorcycle helmet on my head, which means cooking my brains out if hot. Also got this weird echo effect going on.

Liana - I almost passed out last year at Otakon wearing that dress. Wore it because creator was there. Being on the top floor of convention center where heat rises with high humidity too in August while wearing velvet - I feel sick.

I threw out the shoes I wore as Karla at AWA5 - my feet had never hurt that bad before or since

Amelia - boots are uncomfortable - trying various inserts to hopefully find something that would make them more tolerable

Rosiel

07-16-2002, 11:14 AM

Actually I think the topic already came up since I remember a long drawn out whine/rant on the evils of full pleather in Baltimore heat (Dragonslayer) and thigh-high plate mail (Suikoden), but also heavy wings (Rosiel) and metal shoes (Ramirez).

Well... to make it short. My /only/ comfortable costume /ever/ was anime Zoisite. It didn't even require a wig. I love it to bits.

Everything else can be rated from mildly annoying to full-out-ancient-Chinese-torture. ^___^

tsukinohime

07-20-2002, 12:10 AM

*thinks*I can't think of anything I've worn that is REALLY uncomfortable, but my serenity costume this year was a little . . . um . . . precarious. I never feel comfortable in a dress without straps and the fact that people kept stepping on my skirt made me even more suceptable to "disaster." I made it through without any indecent exposure, however. I'm sure people here have worn stuff even more dangerous in that respect, but I like to be fully covered.

Rosiel

07-20-2002, 09:26 AM

Have you ever thought of adding clear straps, just for your peace of mind? (I've seen a Sailor Starlight pop out of her costume once, poor girl, what embarassment. >_<)

arisuchan

07-20-2002, 11:39 AM

the most uncomfortable costume I've had to deal with was my Shinji plug suit. It fit into it (cause I sewed it too small) and to also make me look "boyish" I had to bind up my breasts. I was in sooooooooo much pain by the end Saturday night at Otakon last year! It felt like I had done too many sit ups or something like that. So from now on Shinji will only make guest appeances at cons *^^*

tsukinohime

07-20-2002, 12:15 PM

I had clear straps, but with people stepping on the dress and all I hd one come undone. Thank goodness for emergency sewing supplies!

Lady_Sephiroth

07-21-2002, 11:03 AM

My Alis armor from Katsucon -- I finished it like the Thursday before and didn't think to line it with felt or something. I had Kleenex inside all the contact points trying to pad it a little -- I think one of them popped out on stage, if you look very closely at the pics of me on stage you can see the Kleenex in my collar :)

I think my most comfy costume is my Rinoa costume -- that's the only one tho, most of mine have strange shoes or something that are irritating, but when I am walking around a con I tend not to notcie the pain. I always travel with lots of ziploc bags to make ice packs out of tho :)

Rosiel

07-22-2002, 09:36 AM

> I always travel with lots of ziploc bags to make ice packs out of tho

That is SUCH a good idea. *___* I should start doing that too, my shoulders get so sore each time I wear my wings...

engrish

07-22-2002, 01:16 PM

This is very mild compared to what all you guys went thru but I made this skirt that had this weird static cling effect to it. It kept on clinging to my legs instead of having that "free flowing" effect. The problem could of been solved very easily by using some anti static spray had I noticed this first before running off to the con. ohhh well live and learn.

peacecraft

07-22-2002, 02:11 PM

at AX 2001 I wore a zellgadis costume that was uncomfortable as hell. It was three layers of clothing, to begin with, but the real problem was that I wanted to get the face to look right, so I wore full prosthetic make-up made from liquid laytex molds I made. Those prosthetics, as well as the rest of my exposed flesh, were covered in a thick layer of makeup much of which was then painted on top of for effect. I will never wear that many facial prosthetics again. Never, never, never. They didn't even photograph well. I was so bummed...

Hikaruchan

07-22-2002, 04:18 PM

For my Zelgadis face pieces, I painted them then put a gloss finish over them. The gloss seemed to help, as the better cameras picked up a slight shine from all the stones. The effect didn't work next time wore the pieces, so looks like will have to repaint and gloss everytime before wearing this costume.

Kurenai

08-09-2002, 09:14 PM

Almost all of my costumes require wigs because my hair is long, red and curly (and the very few characters that have that hair, I already plan on being ^^;;;;) so I have to put my hair in six braids and pin them tightly to my head so the wig will go on. I think I've gone through whole cons with my hair like that.

Harle: That makeup I put on? Very tasty after a couple hours >< Starts to crack too. Yummy. I also can't bend down and must sit very carefully so that the stitching doesn't snap.

Selphie: It's just a for-fun costume, so I didn't bother to get real boots and instead used black, knee-high, 5-inch-heel boots. It's interesting to see the condition of my feet after raving in those for four hours O.o

ME-MANIA-Sama

08-09-2002, 09:19 PM

I was Wolfwood... it doesn't get more unpleasant then that...

I'm wearing a suit and undershirt and pants and I'm all covered up in warm clothing, I'm lugging around a gigantic cross made of foam rubber, cardboard, and two big steel bars for support & sound effect (There's a metal plate that clangs off the ground when I slam down the cross!) Anyway, I have that... then I have a chapel made of wood that is actually able to have someone's head put in it and everything... and then I have my guns, I haven't used 'em yet, but soon I'll have 'em (Plus my jacket for wolfwood is packed with cigarettes & cameras and a stapler for last minute fixing of my cross incase the ribbons decide to get loose and come undone. Then I have my WWWD Merchandise I like to sell to people, it's great fun and makes me some extra cash to spend at the con, well overall... I've got like 3 or 4 props total to lug around on me, so i need assistants to help me IE a Vash and that's why I've decided that I'm no longer bonna do wolfwood at Otakon unless my hotel is in the Hyatt, because it's too much damn work to store my stuff somewhere and not have to worry about needing it for whatever reason.

My most pleasant costume was obviously Gau, except my lil containment bags of things kept getting tangled up and I had to unwind them so I could open my bags etc. Oh... and after two days in those sandals... I realized they were 1 size too small for my feet, but they look too good on me for me to wear a different pair, plus they really look Gauish... and so yeah I had some blisters and cuts and stuff.

Space Invader

08-09-2002, 10:01 PM

I've only made two costumes, but the most uncomfortable was Hikaru from Rayearth. Did I do her school outfit or 1st stage armor? Oh no. I had to go the HARD route and did THIS (http://www.unclosed.net/rainbowmisu/animagic/hikaru.jpg) version. The one arm with all the armor pieces on it was so uncomfortable. I could barely move it! Also, I made that sash on the shoulderpiece a little too long so everyone kept stepping on it *sweatdrop*. The shoes could have been a lethal weapon in themselves. They had 4 1/2 inch heels, which was made out of thick, clunky rudder. If you hit someone in the head with one your could give them a concussion. The costume is retired until I can improve it some.

kelldar

08-09-2002, 10:55 PM

Almost all of my costumes have at least one thing that makes them uncomfortable ><; Worst yet has been my Urd costume, because walking all over Otakon in those pointy high heeled boots killed my feet. There are quite a few pics of me as Urd out there where I don't have my shoes on anymore ^^;
The tops of my ears are also *really* sensitive, so after about an hour of wearing a wig it starts getting painful ><;

Ayaka

08-09-2002, 11:19 PM

. . . I betcha I'm gonna be really miserable in Ilpalazzo and Ashram. Suits with a huge cape, and then armor (plus a long wig). Integral was hot as all get out, and that was just a suit. oO;;; I'm planning to tape some chemical cold packs to my back in Ashram (I think he'll be worse than Ilpalazzo) . . . especially because I'm likely getting 6" platform boots for height (I'm gonna try some on and see if I can walk first). I hope the weather for AX is cool again next year!

ReiChan

08-10-2002, 01:57 AM

All my costumes so far have had something that made them uncomfortable. For Haruko it was my cheap-ass white go-go boots that had absolutely no padding whatsoever and were a half-size too small. For Lulu, it was a combination of this belt thing around my waist that was supporting all the other 20-something belts (pretty heavy), and this black bodysuit thing I was wearing underneath to hold all my chubbiness in. That thing dug into my skin and left little purple owwies that are *still* there nearly a week after Comic-con. Death was probably my most comfortable outfit, but the gigantic boots I was wearing were so heavy that I overworked a few muscles in my legs just walking around all day, plus they gave me blisters. x_x

Next year I want to do movie-version Folken, but since that costume's pretty much all black and consists of at least 3 layers of heavy fabrics (plus long sleeves, pants, gloves, and a long wig), I really hope I don't pass out from heat stroke, especially in AX dealer-room lines. Oy.

Movie folken, coolness, i have a movie van costume. i wanna go "oni sama, oni sama" when you wear it.

O yea my most unconfortable costume was the first i wore tenchi blue battle jurai suit. Couple layers of canvas, a layer of cloth, foam insulation around my neck, couldn't move my head too much with the collar, and plus my make up force me to keep my head up strait through sheer will alone. Didn't want to smeer makeup on my costume and well off my face. By the way i did this for four days straight. Had to go to a chiropractor for awhile.

most un-comfy: Cloud Strife due to the shoulder
armor and it's heavy and
has a tendancy to choke me. Sera-Myu Jupiter is
pretty uncomfy too..has soo much beading and it's heavy.

scandia

08-10-2002, 09:35 AM

Other than the corset (which I now wear over a camisole) and girdle (which is not too bad and the slimming effect is worth it), my costumes per se are comfortable. However, for JACON's Nadeshiko Kinomoto costume I made the mistake of wearing heels. I got the largest blisters EVER. And the previous day I was dressed as Michiru and wearing ballet flats- I was skipping in a parking lot when I tripped, fell, skinned my knee and hurt my toe. I usually wear Mary Janes, which have straps that allow me to skip. Never mind I am 24 AND the teacher- skipping is fun.

PirateRogue

08-10-2002, 12:48 PM

i set my makeup with baby powder-- only to find out i was *surprise* allergic. eyelids were almost swollen shut the next day.

we are all fashion victims. lets us suffer mightily for our obsession!

Tenshi

08-10-2002, 01:23 PM

O_o how could I not have included battle Aeka in my grievances? The MAKEUP! I hardly wore this at AX because of the makeup. While it stayed on and hardly smeared when it was worn at home, the added humidity of Long Beach made it absolutely melt. Plus, there's so many layers to the costume, including a long-sleeved black turtleneck O_o. I was absolutely dying. The only plus was that I didn't have to wear shoes with it XD.

Dark Vision

08-10-2002, 02:00 PM

hehe, i eventually discover alternatives to makeup.

*raises roll of tape on a pedestual

Celine

08-10-2002, 02:39 PM

Any costume which involves chest-binding is incredibly uncomfortable. I'm sure it's worse depending on how much you have to bind. I definitely try to do the correct gender characters for exactly this reason. Otherwise, I run out of energy and end up sitting/lying down a lot everywhere I go.

Other bad idea: making long (10.5") ears out of Sculpey and wearing them on your head with a wire headpiece. Add a wig on top of that and instant headache! ^^

KuroBara

08-12-2002, 12:15 AM

I travelled to Otakon this year in my black leather knee-high boots for Mireille Bouquet. The dealer's room just about killed me. My friends made fun of me for being a limping assassin! Note to self: Break in the shoes next year!

I did catch some guy taking pictures of my butt in my Sailor Neptune costume, but that's a different kind of uncomfortable. >_<

Oshi

08-12-2002, 01:33 AM

I design my costumes to be as comfortable as possible, or just pick characters that don't require really... yeah.. yknow. Tough stuff.
Lets take my Kaze costume for example. I'm building the DemonGun (compact form) using a sheet of foam, curling it into a cylinder, and putting gold paperboard over it. The foam will make it light, and should just fit snugly onto my arm when I stick it in the middle. So it shouldn't be a hassle to carry around ^_^
The only thing I'll have to worry about is my arm getting a bit hot >.>;
Then there's my design for my Shadow the Hedgehog. Instead of a full body suit, I'm substituting the chest and pant areas with... a black TShirt (with the chest fur sewn on) and black shorts. Then I have arm coverings and gloves and the headpeice, all that stuff will be light and at most just make me a little hot... As if Shadow isn't 'hot' enough, heheh.
Now... the only one I may have problems with is Roy (Fire Emblem, SSBM). He has armor. I dunno what it will be made of right now, since that's the last costume on my current list... But something tells me it won't be the most comfortable thing to wear. But I'll try my best to make it so ^_^;
Oh yeah! Legato. The shoulder thing. A definate factor towards uncomfortablilty. Or just pestering...

katrinastrife

09-04-2002, 06:16 AM

Hmm... Wearing anything with a high heel sucks. That aside... Anything not covering too much skin in February (starlight)... And I have the same problem with almost waist length hair. I had to pin it up to put it under my hat thingie from Tin Nyanko... THAT was a trip... And little strands kept falling out from underneath my hat, too... Grr.

Well, I'm planning on doing a Feena costume, (Grandia) and I'm probably going to regret picking something with that much of a slit in the skirt... but it's worth trying... ^^v

khamryn

09-04-2002, 11:22 AM

The boots on my Illuminati Gackt outfit killed me.. I still eye them with disdain in they're little corner in my room. ^^;;;;

And the shirt for Replica Sakito.. I've gotten stuck in it a couple times. Not a comfortable feeling. (The first time we had pins in it and idiot me tried it on. O.O)

Rosiel

09-04-2002, 11:39 AM

> I've gotten stuck in it a couple times

I literaly got STUCK trying to take off both of Ramirez's tops at once. LOL I needed a friend to come and pull it over my head.

And if by stuck you mean stung by pins... when I work on a costume, since I fit everything on myself directly, I generally have scratches from pins all over. I'm used to it by now. ^___^

khamryn

09-04-2002, 12:06 PM

>I literaly got STUCK trying to take off both of Ramirez's tops at once. LOL I needed a friend to come and pull it over my head.

@@ Eep. I figured out how to get it off.. I just needed to manuver a bit to do it.. but I could do it myself. ^^;;

>And if by stuck you mean stung by pins... when I work on a costume, since I fit everything on myself directly, I generally have scratches from pins all over. I'm used to it by now. ^___^

Lol, I lost so much blood making my Holy uniform. THe funny part is, you don't care about your cuts, it's all about not bleeding on the white fabric! By the end of a weekend of sewing, I have band-aids on all my fingertips because of those pins.

Rosiel

09-04-2002, 01:12 PM

> thus why I'll never sell em.. hehe

Same here, one would have to be exactly my size to fit in a lot of my costumes. Plus I have to admit I get attached to them, they are like my kids LOL so unless they were made for someone else, I can't see myself selling them.

> it's all about not bleeding on the white fabric!

LOL Schuldig has blood stains on it, but since it's a few drops on the lining of the vest I decided to let them be... ^___^ It seems appropriate somehow.

Mei Lan Chang

09-04-2002, 02:41 PM

Hahha....I am doing an interpretation of the Final Fantasy IX monster, the Gimme Cat for ANi-Magic. I wanted to make it extra...*ehem* sexeh so I am wearing a black bathing suit as the base. Problem is, with my HUGE paws, there is no easy way to pick the wedgie that all bathingsuits seem to create.

So if you go to Ani-Magic and see a wierd girl with huge paws and a skimpy bathing suit grabbing at her butt all the time...that's me.

Rosiel

09-04-2002, 03:07 PM

> So if you go to Ani-Magic and see a wierd girl with huge paws and a skimpy bathing suit grabbing at her butt all the time...that's me.

Do what girls do at Miss Universe pageants and others where there is a bathing suit competition. Tape your bathing suit to your posterior with double-stick tape or duct tape.

No wedgie! =)

khamryn

09-04-2002, 03:36 PM

>THe funny part is, you don't care about your cuts, it's all about not bleeding on the white fabric!

So true. ::nodnod:: Its that way with my secret-like costume riht now. ^^

>Same here, one would have to be exactly my size to fit in a lot of my costumes. Plus I have to admit I get attached to them, they are like my kids LOL so unless they were made for someone else, I can't see myself selling them.

Heheh yep. ^_^

Oshi

09-04-2002, 04:06 PM

To conclude the comfort of my Kaze costume...
I was right about the arms. I forgot Vinyl doesn't breath.. LoL. My arm was sooo sweaty with that glove on. The one with the DemonGun wasn't too bad, mainly cuz I took it off alot. But besides that, everything was light and comfy.

Kusanagi

09-04-2002, 05:52 PM

Originally posted by ReiChan
All my costumes so far have had something that made them uncomfortable. For Haruko it was my cheap-ass white go-go boots that had absolutely no padding whatsoever and were a half-size too small. For Lulu, it was a combination of this belt thing around my waist that was supporting all the other 20-something belts (pretty heavy), and this black bodysuit thing I was wearing underneath to hold all my chubbiness in. That thing dug into my skin and left little purple owwies that are *still* there nearly a week after Comic-con. Death was probably my most comfortable outfit, but the gigantic boots I was wearing were so heavy that I overworked a few muscles in my legs just walking around all day, plus they gave me blisters. x_x

Next year I want to do movie-version Folken, but since that costume's pretty much all black and consists of at least 3 layers of heavy fabrics (plus long sleeves, pants, gloves, and a long wig), I really hope I don't pass out from heat stroke, especially in AX dealer-room lines. Oy.

Hey Rei, weren't you the Lulu that went onstage right before me? (I was the Guy with the big green wings and red armor.)

Nietsche

09-04-2002, 08:43 PM

Argh! Note to self... Make sure that Email Notification of New Messages has been checked as 'no'!

Wow...so much suffering for the sake of the art! My heart pours out to all of you who go through hell to satisfy their cosplay desires!